US smartphone shipments fall sharply, but Android more than iPhone • Hacker News Board

Re: US smartphone shipments fall sharply, but Android more than iPhone

#621

Post by mydriasis » Sat, Jul 29, 2023, 1:27 AM UTC

saltcured wrote: post #461

6581 wrote: post #201

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>I have a Pixel 4a right now, can I install this stuff on there GrapheneOS is available for the 4a.

To be clear, there is no need to replace the stock firmware unless you are taking a hard ideological stance. You can install F-Droid on most any Android phone, then install OSMAnd+ from F-Droid over WiFi, download some maps, and then turn off the networks to use it offline as a GPS-only device. Replacing the firmware with something de-googled would make it more certain that don't login with a Google account during in…

Gotcha -- okay! I'll check out F-Droid first. Thanks!!

Re: US smartphone shipments fall sharply, but Android more than iPhone

#622

Post by worrycue » Sat, Jul 29, 2023, 1:28 AM UTC

jackvalentine wrote: post #589

worrycue wrote: post #587

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think the app is just for you to check your data usage. Things will work without it. Just insert the SIM card and reboot.

The link at the bottom has a profile that sets the APN - it might work without it if you reboot tbh but without being in Korea and having the SIM I can’t verify that. It isn’t the app that he’s talking about.

Didn’t see that. Viewed image on phone and didn’t scroll.

I think it depends on the carrier whether APNs are required. Can be automatically set nowadays with iOS 16 according to https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT201699

Re: US smartphone shipments fall sharply, but Android more than iPhone

#623

Post by cglong » Sat, Jul 29, 2023, 1:31 AM UTC

chasd00 wrote: post #580

cglong wrote: post #471

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The part that worries me is that Apple is stifling young people's imagination for what computers can do.

how are they stifling imagination? You can still get a compiler and text editor like always. Those two things were all we had back in "the good old days" of so-called general computing.

A few examples from my own childhood. Some freedoms were good and some are bad, but my mom said they were all worth it for what I learned:

· My dad made a custom boot script that gave me instant access to my favorite games.

· I sent a computer to the repair shop for weeks after figuring out how to change the computer to use an unsupported screen resolution.

· My Palm Pilot had several video game emulators.

· Our Windows 95 computer got the Ripper virus from my friend's 3.1 machine. It replicates if you boot the machine with an infected floppy disk connected, but it doesn't affect 3.1, so he had no idea his was infected.

Re: US smartphone shipments fall sharply, but Android more than iPhone

#624

Post by 1123581321 » Sat, Jul 29, 2023, 1:32 AM UTC

thegreenswede wrote: post #559

Loveaway wrote: post #466

Earlier quoted context omitted.

No mate, people value themselves and get the best thing they can have. Smartphones are so essential now and used 24/7, don't cheap out on it. You don't cheap out on food either. Nothing to do with status. Not all about Apple either, there are nice premium Android phones as well. What are you doing, saving for a golden tombstone?

Cheaping out in food is not uncommon and honestly a great way to save a lot. It's also super easy to decide to do. My wife and I literally don't eat out anymore. Haven't been to sit down place in many months. The value of the experience has degraded so much and the price is so absurd, that every time we used to go out in the past 2 years we questioned why we even bother anymore. And the money we save is used for trav…

If the value has degraded so much then you're not giving up anything by sticking to groceries, right? That's a bit different from buying a lower quality phone.

For you, maybe a better analogy would be buying cheaper food at the grocery store.

(I see a lot of restaurants serving outstanding food so it does feel like a sacrifice when we don't eat there, plus we do shop carefully and buy in bulk. I also have an iPhone.)

Re: US smartphone shipments fall sharply, but Android more than iPhone

#625

Post by indemnity » Sat, Jul 29, 2023, 1:33 AM UTC

zh3 wrote: post #316

lolinder wrote: post #278

The link should really be to the original report [0]. This 55% is iPhone's share of phone shipments in Q2, not the number of users of the respective phones at any given time. In other words, fewer people are buying smartphones than were before, but Apple saw less of a hit to their numbers than everyone else did. Contrary to existing comments here, this stat doesn't appear to indicate that people are switching from An…

I'm constantly amazed by how people spend so much of their income on Apple products; it's almost like their lives are ruled by the status they feel an iPhone brings (and the consequential sacrificial purchasing). It likely varies by area and average income, here it's almost an inverse correlation - the less-well off kids at school tend to have parents on iPhones and the comfortable parents are on whatever works for t…

One or two purchases every two or three years isn't exactly breaking the bank.

Probably spend more on coffees or alcohol.

Re: US smartphone shipments fall sharply, but Android more than iPhone

#626

Post by hntway123 » Sat, Jul 29, 2023, 1:34 AM UTC

foobarbazetc wrote: post #363

zh3 wrote: post #316

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm constantly amazed by how people spend so much of their income on Apple products; it's almost like their lives are ruled by the status they feel an iPhone brings (and the consequential sacrificial purchasing). It likely varies by area and average income, here it's almost an inverse correlation - the less-well off kids at school tend to have parents on iPhones and the comfortable parents are on whatever works for t…

iPhones just work. Macs just work. 99% of people don’t want to spend time configuring anything. Both iOS and Android stopped innovating like 5 years ago, but at least the Apple ecosystem doesn’t feel dead like Android.

I'm not ragging on anyone that uses Apple products, but the "Apple products just work" thing is just as big of a meme as "Apple is for rich people" & "Android is for poor people" memes. Apple products "just work" so long as you want to do something Apple deems worth doing.

Re: US smartphone shipments fall sharply, but Android more than iPhone

#627

Post by boulos » Sat, Jul 29, 2023, 1:45 AM UTC

kaba0 wrote: post #251

glitchc wrote: post #4

I was due for an upgrade and switched to Android this cycle. Acquired a unlocked Pixel 7 that was on sale in June and immediately reflashed it with GrapheneOS. Ultimately a very smooth experience. The difference in tracking is very evident as is the amount of data streaming out of the phone.

But Google is again deliberately stupid with them, like, just goddamn.. sell it.. in Europe. I honestly can’t even understand that there are like 3 Eu countries I could buy it, if I wanted to..

The majority of the EU population can buy it directly... https://www.androidauthority.com/google-pixel-7-availability... says:

> The full list of countries includes the US, UK, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Ireland, Netherlands, Sweden, Denmark, Norway, Japan, Australia, Singapore, Taiwan, and India.

I get that plenty of countries don't have official Google Store support, but it's a bit like saying there isn't a Samsung store? I assume you're free to buy the phone elsewhere in the EU, or even in countries that aren't directly supported by Google, and activate with your own carrier.

Re: US smartphone shipments fall sharply, but Android more than iPhone

#628

Post by BLKNSLVR » Sat, Jul 29, 2023, 1:45 AM UTC

bhauer wrote: post #506

flyingcircus3 wrote: post #379

How are we still, 15 years later, stuck in the feigned incredulity stage of android vs ios? "I don't see how anyone still buys an ____. How can you not see the overwhelming evidence that ____ is unequivocally the better phone?" If either device can fit in either blank, as it has all over this thread, perhaps that's because there hasn't been any undeniably impactful feature improvements on either platform in the last…

Tribalism. Just like politics and brand preferences in other economic sectors (cars, computers, and so on). I for one think both Android and iOS are pretty awful operating systems. I still look forward to a viable third option, and would especially enjoy a phone that functions more like an accessory or terminal to my computer, rather than a first-class computer in its own right.

I quite like Android in it's more libre form, disconnected from artificial manufacturer-imposed restrictions, ie. LineageOS.

I tend to purchase hardware based on the availability (or likely availability) of 3rd party ROM support.

Re: US smartphone shipments fall sharply, but Android more than iPhone

#629

Post by skydhash » Sat, Jul 29, 2023, 1:45 AM UTC

wvenable wrote: post #196

matchbok wrote: post #7

Years and years of terrible decisions from Google (15 messaging apps, Android SDK glitches that still exist from 2010, copying Apple's features instead of leading) will only continue to let Apple dominate. There's simply no reason to choose Android - iPhone does everything better, for the same price.

My wife is totally in the iOS ecosystem and I'm fully in the Samsung ecosystem and they both have their pros and cons. Pros on Android: My work profile is isolated from my personal profile, I can just copy movies onto the device and play them with VLC, automatic routines are better, audio controls are much better, the back button, ad blockers, real alternative browsers, etc. The problem with long term iPhone users is…

As a technical user (I was rooting my phone to get upgrades and remove bloatware and I was jailbreaking out of iphone), I got bored out of doing customization. I just want something to work and do the stuff I need to do. If I need to tinker, I will buy something to tinker with, but I don’t want that in other areas of my life. I don’t want to modify my fridge or my washing machine (I know what I should learn to do it). If my iPhone can no longer do what I need, i’ll switch.

And these days, I’m against the kitchen sink. I watch movies on a TV (there’s always one anywhere I’ve been) I read books on an e-reader, and I have a DAP for listening to music (except today, streaming is becoming more convenient for general listening). And most of my computing is done on my laptop. My phone is very much an appliance because I don’t need it to do much, just that it does it reliably.

Re: US smartphone shipments fall sharply, but Android more than iPhone

#630

Post by BLKNSLVR » Sat, Jul 29, 2023, 1:52 AM UTC

JohnFen wrote: post #447

dotnet00 wrote: post #69

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This "Pixel is the only good Android" sentiment is so bizarre to see. Similarly the point about Samsung devices being loaded with bloat and customizations that aren't better. That second argument was valid like 5 years ago, but definitely not today. Samsung devices do still have a lot of customization, but most of it is actually pretty useful in my experience. Lots of little features that I hadn't realized would be n…

> That second argument was valid like 5 years ago, but definitely not today. I disagree. It's still valid. > Samsung devices do still have a lot of customization, but most of it is actually pretty useful in my experience. Ahh, that may be why we have different experiences. You consider their stuff to be useful -- which is a totally fair opinion -- but I consider it all to be worthless bloat -- which is another totall…

> I don't mind that it's there. I do mind that I can't delete it.

This is the key point. Not giving the user the choice. Yes, they can install a different program that does the same thing, but the manufacturer-dictated programs are still there, taking up space in storage, the app list, and possibly memory if they're doing potentially user-hostile shit in the background.